The US Luxury Home Market

The
US
Luxury Home Market - Despite recent dips in real
es­tate prices, waterfront homes and residential communities, such as
the new Pitz-Carlton Kapalua development, have held their value.

A
recent study by the National Association of Realtors in the US, for
ex­ample, found falling prices and slowing home sales in more than half
of the nation's largest metropolitan areas in the last quarter of 2006.
However, when it comes to .specific segments of specific markets, the
picture is a lot more complex.

"The
years 2004 and 20(15 were catch-up and windfall years," says Michael
Saunders of Michael Saunders & Com­pany, which is based in
Sarasota
, one of the areas targeted by the Realtors' group study. "Then 2006 was the beginning of a normal market, and you needed to price accordingly. It was a challenging year in
Florida
in general. But waterfront homes remained strong.'"

From Florida to South Carolina, from California's
Central
Coast
to Seattle and beyond to
Hawaii
, Realtors who handle luxury waterfront properties—both
single-family homes and condominiums—pres­ent a nuanced view of the
state of real estate.

The
finest properties, especially in waterfront communities, they say, have
held their own. And not surprisingly, they articulate the same classic
principles: Long-term luxury real estate investors who want to live in
their homes will be rewarded; speculators in a market with oversupply
will not fare so well.

"I
have a golden three-year rule," Saun­ders says, "If someone bought
three years ago, I challenge anyone to show me how they lost money."